Duke and Mount St. Mary's square off Friday afternoon. The Blue Devils, with their star-studded roster, officially start what could be a long run to the Final Four. The Mountaineers picked up a tournament win Wednesday night, defeating American in Dayton. Just days before, they had won the MAAC tournament title, punching their ticket into the big dance.
Duke's been dominant all year long and they've done it in large part to their balance on both ends of the floor. While there's plenty of offense in a lineup full of guys like Cooper Flagg, Kon Kneuppel, Khaman Maluach, and Sion James, they bring the energy on the defensive end as well. Maluach is a problem for any guard to find daylight and finish inside the lane, while a guy like Isaiah Evans off the bench provides plenty of length on the perimeter and brings a tenacity that seems to always fire up this Blue Devil team. The ACC champions are loaded, and they're primed to make a run back to the Final Four.
How to watch Duke vs Mount St. Mary's
- Date: Friday, March 21st
- Time: 2:50 p.m. Eastern time
- Venue: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- Streaming: fuboTV
- Duke record: 31-3 (19-1 ACC)
- Mount St. Mary's record: 23-12 (12-8 MAAC)
Duke vs Mount St. Mary's odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Duke -100000
- Mount St. Mary's +7000
Spread
- Mount St. Mary's +32.5
- Duke -32.5
Total
- Over/Under: 140.5
Mount St. Mary's injury report
- Carmelo Pacheco, G: Out (Finger)
- Terrell Ard, F Out (Achilles)
Duke injury report
- Cooper Flagg, F: Probable (ankle)
- Maliq Brown, F: Questionable (shoulder)
Duke and Mount St. Mary's series history
Friday will mark the very first meeting between the two programs.
Duke vs Mount St. Mary's prediction
As unfortunate as it was to lose Flagg for two games down in Charlotte, that experience may work in favor of the Blue Devils come Friday afternoon and beyond in this tournament. Guys like Tyrese Proctor, Kon Kneuppel, and Khaman Maluach showed they can all band together and win without their future lottery pick teammate in a way that should breed a ton of confidence from top to bottom on this roster.
Mount St. Mary's enters the opening round with confidence after the aforementioned First Four win Wednesday night and were able to shoot an effective from three and took advantage on their 14-17 attempts from the foul line in the win. They'll need to find a similar groove to have any chance at upending this potent Blue Devil offense. The Mountaineers drilled nine threes in the win over American, they'll likely need to hit anywhere from 14-18 to truly threaten against a lengthy and superior defense like Duke's.
The two 1 versus 16 upsets were fun, but this game certainly won't come close to being the third. Duke's talent and the newfound confidence of their role players are just too much for the Mountaineers to mitigate. Regardless how much Cooper Flagg does or doesn't play, Duke wins and they'll do it quite handily.
Score Prediction: Duke 85, Mount St. Mary's 59